CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept 30, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alkermes, Inc., (NASDAQ: ALKS) today announced the appointment of Joseph Anisko, Ph.D., to the new position of Vice President of Quality. In his new role at Alkermes, Dr. Anisko will be responsible for all aspects of quality operations and compliance activities.
Dr. Anisko brings to Alkermes more than 20 years of experience in quality and regulatory positions with some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. Most recently, Dr. Anisko was Vice President of Quality for Global R&D at AstraZeneca based in Sweden. Previously, he spent more than a decade in positions of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca including Vice President of Corporate Quality Management and Vice President of Quality Assurance.
Prior to AstraZeneca, Dr. Anisko worked for Johnson & Johnson, Fisons and Schering- Plough. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D., from the University of California at Berkley.
"We are extremely excited to have Joe join Alkermes," reports David Broecker, President and Chief Operating Officer. "He has tremendous experience and a proven track record in leading and building quality organizations. As we prepare for the further development and commercialization of multiple partnered and proprietary products, Joe's expertise and leadership will be invaluable."
As a member of Alkermes senior management team, Dr. Anisko will report directly to David Broecker.
Alkermes, Inc., is an emerging pharmaceutical company developing products based on its sophisticated drug delivery technologies to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Our areas of focus include: controlled, extended-release of injectable drugs utilizing our ProLease(R) and Medisorb(R) delivery systems and the development of inhaled pharmaceutical products based on our proprietary Advanced Inhalation Research, Inc., ("AIR") pulmonary delivery system. Our business strategy is twofold. We partner our proprietary technology systems and drug delivery expertise with many of the world's finest pharmaceutical companies and also develop novel, proprietary drug candidates for our own account. In addition to our Cambridge, Massachusetts headquarters, research and manufacturing facilities, we operate research and manufacturing facilities in Ohio.
Many statements set forth above may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although we believe that such statements are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of our current knowledge of our business and operations, our business is subject to significant risks and various factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations. These include, among others: (i) Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, LLC received a non-approvable letter for Risperdal Consta from the FDA and the issues raised therein may not be resolved in a timely fashion, if at all; (ii) our collaborators could elect to terminate or delay programs at any time; (iii) our products and our product candidates, if approved for marketing, may not be successfully commercialized or produce significant revenues; (iv) our product development efforts, even with regard to late-stage product candidates, may not produce safe, efficacious, approvable or commercially viable products; (v) we will need to spend substantial funds to become profitable and will, therefore, continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future; and (vi) we could incur difficulties or set-backs in obtaining the substantial additional funding required to continue research and development programs and clinical trials. For further information with respect to factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations, reference is made to the reports filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K.
CONTACT:
Alkermes, Inc.
Rebecca Peterson
617-583-6378